“That’s okay. We didn’t exactly give everyone time to plan. This was a little last minute. Sorry about that.” Bailey said.
“Don’t apologize. We’re just glad you decided to come,” Alex said, smiling,
Bailey gave a curt nod and said, “I’m sorry it took me so long. I, um…had some things to work through, as I’m sure Nicole does, too.”
“We don’t need to—” Alex waved his hand as if to brush away the tension.
“No, but we’ll need to. We’ll need to address the elephant in the room.”
Stanley chuckled, and that made her look up at him with narrowed eyes. Ryan’s head also popped up to glare at him.
“Sorry,” he said, his face softening, concern in his expression “It’s not funny. It’s just… I admire your frankness. This family could use a little more of that.”
Alex sighed heavily and said, “Stanley.”
Stanley looked over at his father. “It’s true, Dad. We can’t sweep everything under the rug all the time.”
Linda chose this perfect time to return to the room with a tray of drinks. Bailey took it upon herself to change the subject. It wasn’t her intention to start an argument, but she did want to make it clear they would have to talk about it eventually. It’s not like she could continue to ignore her sister’s absence.
“Are you in school, Stanley?” Bailey asked.
“Yes. UC Davis,” he said. “I like being close to home for some reason.”
“Yes, well, he’s my baby,” Linda said with a sweet smile as she handed out glasses of lemonade.
“Oh, yes,” James said, rolling his eyes. “He’s certainly the baby.”
“Stanley plans on being veterinarian, and UC Davis has one of the best vet schools in the country.”
“Yeah, that, and he’s Mom’s baby,” James teased.
They all chuckled this time, and that helped Bailey relax a little. The mood lightened, and Bailey was relieved now that the formalities were over with. Too bad Nicole wasn’t there. The thought of having to do all this again made her a little nauseous.
“Bailey, we’re so glad you’re here. You, too, Ryan.” The sincerity in Linda’s voice was evident.
“Thank you. I’m glad to be here, too.” She glanced around the room and said, “I was just telling Alex how sorry I am it’s taken me so long to get in contact.”
“Oh, honey, we understand.” Linda’s eyes focused on Bailey. “We’re just relieved you’re okay. We were so worried. What William did… It’s horrific. And to think…” Her voice wavered, but she pulled herself together. “He could be such an animal. We really had no idea.” She covered her mouth for a moment, clearly upset. James placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort.
Bailey leaned forward, actually happy to finally talk about it. “I didn’t know… Well, he fooled me, too.” Her eyes drifted to the floor. “I’ve never considered myself naïve, but Dex certainly proved me wrong.”
“Bay…”
“No, Ryan, it’s true. Even you warned me away from him, and still, I didn’t see the signs.”
“It’s not the same thing, and you know that. I didn’t warn you because of some intuition about his character.”
“But it was.” She looked up at him. “You always said he was a bad guy. You never trusted him.”
“If I had any idea he was capable of doing what he did… Hell, I never even guessed he was married. Seriously, even as often as he stood you up, he still seemed totally available most of the time.”
Bailey nodded. “Yes, he did. When we weren’t together, we talked on the phone all the time. He never seemed to be hiding anything from me.”
“You didn’t know he was married?” James asked.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Bailey laid a hand on her chest. “Of course not. Do you think I would’ve—”
“How would we know? We don’t know you,” James said.
“James,” Alex said. “You shouldn’t make assumptions.”
“He’s right. You don’t know me,” Bailey said, dropping her hand to her chest. “This is why it’s important to talk about this. You don’t know the circumstances behind everything, and it’s important to me that you do know. It’s important I meet Nicole and talk to her about this.”
When Bailey’s voice broke, Alex piped in. “You’ve been through enough. We don’t want to cause you more pain.”
Bailey’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest, and tears welled up in her eyes, but at the same time, she had to fight her hysterical laughter again. “But so have you.” Her mouth involuntarily turned into a frown, and tears dripped traitorously from her eyes. “You’ve all been through so much, too.” She waved at Alex. “You lost a wife and a daughter. You’ve all spent your lives not knowing what happened to this child who disappeared.”
“We don’t have to talk it all out today, Bailey,” Alex said again, his voice soft and placating.
“But we do need to talk it out.” She wiped the tears from her face. “I didn’t know Dex was married. I would never have started seeing him if I had. I didn’t know I was a missing child. I found out I was adopted after my mother died. I immediately started searching.” She looked over at Ryan. “Ryan was there with me every day. He helped me with every step. And now I understand why Dex did everything to discourage my search. I know why, but what I don’t know is how he knew who I was before I did. How the hell did he figure it out?”
Stanley leaned forward. “We’re not sure either, but we have a theory.”
Bailey nearly jumped out of her seat. “Please, tell me. I need to know.”
“No, I don’t think this is the right time,” Alex said. “This is supposed to be a happy reunion.”
“Why not?” Bailey said. “I need to know. I need to know how he found out.” She dropped her head for a moment, not sure
